Study Finds Machiavellianism and Psychopathy Diverge in Daily Life Despite 70% Baseline Overlap
Updated
Updated · PsyPost · Jun 3
Study Finds Machiavellianism and Psychopathy Diverge in Daily Life Despite 70% Baseline Overlap
2 articles · Updated · PsyPost · Jun 3
Summary
317 adults in Poland tracked by smartphone for 30 days showed Machiavellianism and psychopathy split sharply in daily behavior, even though standard trait-level averages made them look nearly identical.
70% baseline overlap fell to about 16% in day-to-day states, and statistical models fit far better when the two were treated as separate categories rather than one antisocial tendency.
One-day spillover ran in one direction: higher Machiavellian behavior predicted more psychopathic behavior the next day, while psychopathic behavior did not forecast a rise in Machiavellianism.
The pattern supports a distinction between strategic, risk-sensitive manipulation and impulsive, consequence-blind aggression, helping explain why surveys and lab experiments have long pointed in different directions.
The authors said the findings are preliminary because the sample skewed young, educated and female, and the once-a-day evening check-ins may have missed faster shifts in behavior.